


Our Noted Sins

by Siddal_Preaker



Category: Elder Scrolls, Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Genre: Death, Dragon death :(, Dragonborn (Elder Scrolls), Dragonborn - Freeform, Dragonborn DLC, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Falling In Love, Fate & Destiny, Idiots in Love, Let the Dragonborns Kiss AU, Redemption, Sex, Smut, Soul Bond, Soul-Searching, Soulmates, Using shouts during sex hm
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-06
Updated: 2018-12-06
Packaged: 2019-09-12 01:05:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,944
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16863343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siddal_Preaker/pseuds/Siddal_Preaker
Summary: Zephyrine split her soul before Hermaeus Mora, saving Miraak from the depths of Apocrypha and a fate that would have consumed them both. They touch the frozen grounds of Skyrim and realize that's still up for debate. Together, the Dragonborns go forth and find there is always something left for the fates to burn. ((Finally, the sequel to my Miraak/LDB oneshot, "Words of Power."))





	Our Noted Sins

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, one year later and I'm posting the little sequel I started so many months ago. The surprise reception my first part got was so lovely and appreciated. Sexual content ahoy! Thank you guys so much!!

            Zephyrine woke to the rocking of a carriage, more like a crate with two wheels being pulled along. Her mouth was dry when she tried to speak as a farmer propped her head up to offer cool water.

            “There, there,” the woman was a blur. “We found you and your friend half dead. Rest now. We’re almost to Falkreath.” The group around her kept a distance while they ushered along.

            “ _Miraak_ ,” she’d uttered in a croak, head tilting to see him on his back with his eyes closed.

            “Oh, the man? He’s holding on. We got a healing potion in him. Rest.” The stranger offered but Zephyrine was gone again.

** ** **

            The perfect ring of lush purple around her neck ached worse the next time she woke to healers tending to her. Vocal cords were shuddered and raw when she tried to use them. Falkreath smelled of rain and pine. A mess of ruined armor and fabric lie on the floor next to her cot so she stayed put in her underwear and heavy bandages covered in minty ointments that stung. Zephyrine tuned out the many voices to see healers working on Miraak in another cot right next to her. This time his eyes cracked open and he looked back at her own. She didn’t see Mora behind their glow.

            “What happened out there?” One man had asked through the smoke of candles and incense. They did not recognize her face. They didn’t recognize the hero of Skyrim.

            “Were you fighting? Or is he with you?” Another chimed in and both Dragonborns were silent, still staring at each other with hardening looks. _Is he with me?_ Zephyrine thought to herself. _Am I with him?_

            “This Dunmer give you trouble, kinsman?” An old man cut in before he was ushered away. Miraak’s black eyes were two hard pieces of coal. Zephyrine finally turned from him, voice rough and dry.

            “Highwaymen. Attacked us on the road.” She offered as they worked. “He…He is with me.” Miraak hissed while they did what they could for his stab wound, grunting out before a pair of hands lifted his robes from the floor. He was almost nude, shaped with muscles and scars. Burns. His skin was like hers. He thought briefly of his lost mask, probably lying in a broken clatter upon the steps in Apocrypha for Mora’s wake. Who was he without it now?

            “You with the college? Odd robes.”

            “No.” Miraak gathered a breath. Zephyrine smirked to herself; he sounded truly irritated. Mora’s laughter was no longer in their brains ringing about. Would he come for them another time? Was this his ill plan all along by that twist of fate?

            “Either way, travelers, you both won’t be leaving for a few days. Those bandits did a good job on you. Rest. Get your strength back.” A priest with an amulet of Arkay hanging from his neck approached the beds. Zephyrine’s mind was alight with millions of questions and Miraak’s sentiment matched. But, they both shared another hard stare and closed their eyes, unable to face what was to come just yet. Unable to trace questions with tongues. Healers went on, the room glowed between cracks in splintered woods. Dragonborns fluttered in and out of consciousness, eyes always scanning the next bed. Always ensuring it wasn’t empty.

            Birds flitted about beyond the window and Miraak stirred when the sky was finally dark. He watched Zephyrine breathe, willing his body to push itself up. The pain was great, he felt his lungs pull in clear air for the first time in so many years. Torn robes and ruined weapons were deposited on a table at the foot of the bed. The sword’s blade was scorched and shattered while the staff was a useless stick but he used it to get around, straining his body.

            Miraak gathered his things, everything that Mora had touched, into his free arm after swiping a black robe from a chest. Zephyrine was just breathing and the sight somehow relieved him. Black hair was long past her shoulders, loose around the sharp angles of her face and ears. His dark brown locks had grown so, pulled back with a thin leather cord. Barefoot, he pushed forward, eyes forced away with his next step before he scoffed a pitiful word.

            “Farewell.” Miraak stole boots and a few necessities. Cold air was a blessing when he got outside, sliding around in shadows until he came upon the still white hot blaze of a smith’s forge. Hands lifted what was left of his identity, torn to shreds. Not unlike his soul. Not unlike Zephyrine’s. So, he let the pieces flutter and burn. It was silent for all of five seconds.

            “You think I’d let you leave my sight?” Something poked the back of his head.

            “No.” He didn’t try to see her. Zephyrine held a blacksmith’s hammer in one hand and gripped a wooden staff with another to stay upright. Her voice was harsh, not all intentionally.

            “Give me the staff, let me see your hands.” She’d ordered so he lifted them in response.

            “You would free me of Mora to make me your prisoner.”

            “I still don’t know if I can trust you. You tried to enslave Solstheim mere hours ago. You almost ripped what was left of my soul apart to do it.” She bound him and ushered him forward. “There’s an unattended courier cart up ahead. We’re taking it. Do not try anything.”

            “You have no plan.”

            “Maybe not.” She peered around for a guard and stole a horse, pushing Miraak up a small hill to make him step up into a cart. “I won’t gag you. Stay silent.” He wasn’t looking at her any longer. Moons shone down with stars sparkling around them. They reflected bright within his eyes. Zephyrine took note too, growing softer. “Forgot what it looked like? The sky.” She dropped a bag across from him. Miraak did not answer, eyes turning to see her. Her huff was followed by slow steps before she got into the carriage and ushered the horse to go. “You don’t remember the warmth of the sun on your face. The feel of cold air chilling your skin. Only the breath of dragon’s fire and damp air of Apocrypha.”

            “Where are you taking me?” He twisted against ropes, hands in his lap.

            “I have no idea.” She was quiet. “You’ve no idea where you’d go either. This is not your world any longer. You don’t know Skyrim. Not anymore.”

            “You don’t wish for me to disappear into it.”

            “I did not say that.” Zephyrine urged the horse to pick up the pace. “Is that how you wish our story to end? Dragonborns intertwined. First and Last. Together. Ending with you leaving and dying on the road of those wounds. Surely we deserve better.”

            “You did not believe that long before me.” He heard her exhale quiver like she might cry.

            “I do now.”

            “Yes, you have stated such already. I perish and you go on with life, the hero they’ll always need. You were last for a reason, Zephyrine.” Miraak’s eyes casted a glow in this light when she turned to see them at the utter of her name. “Is that how you would tell our story when I cannot any longer?”

            “I’ve been alone all my life. I never knew why. Why I felt so disconnected. Not until Alduin’s shout shook my world to pieces. And at that moment, my story was no longer mine. It was told from the mouths of adoring followers and sung by bards who’ve never seen me fight.” She was watching the road ahead while he stared at her back. “I saved a world that barely knows my name. My face. Just distant and thankful utters of _Dovahkiin_. And then a daedra set their sights on me, splashed ink and blood across every page of this tale. Took control until… Mora put me in front of what I wanted most in this world. What I never felt I had. You felt this too. And I split my soul apart to keep it. So, you’re not leaving my sight until I know you won’t try to repeat what you’ve done…and you won’t leave my sight especially until I…”

            “Until you know if what we have is real.”

            Zephyrine laughed at that. A foreign sound to his ears and yet, Miraak decided that it was beautiful. The carriage shifted along uneven terrain as they got further away.

            “Who says I do not already think it is? Those songs they sang for me… The tales predicting my heroic end. I gave them all life.”

** ** **

            They trekked together with lingering eyes and healing wounds. Silences that still managed to fill a gaping void. A campfire burned between them each night and they woke to the warm ashes and that sweet air. Unable to face the cities, they traveled long, forested roads the first three days. Syllables were few and far between, they just observed. Hunted and ate and camped in silence until those wounds began to scar. Another fire crackled along chilled air in Eastmarch. She didn’t bind him again after that first night. Miraak followed with nothing else to give. He was alive. Pulse beating stronger by the hour. He’d forgotten the feeling.

            “Where will you take me? Or have you not decided?” Miraak watched her toss a stick into the fire.

            “College of Winterhold was the only place I was truly left alone, save the Greybeards. Arch-Mage granted me use of the empty south tower so as long as I keep trouble out. I study until I can’t keep my eyes open, lie my head down in a bed that’s too soft, and repeat the next morning... I’m going there. In truth, I don’t know where else to go. I visit the Greybeards once a month if I can.”

            “Lessons?”

            “No, they spend their days in quiet meditation. But, I have a friend there.”

            “Someone in this dull world caught the eye of the mighty Dragonborn.”

            “Someone? Yes. If you walk the steps one day, I’ll introduce you. I think they’ll intrigue you as well.” Zephyrine gave a lengthy sigh, shoulders dropping while she tossed another few sticks into the fire and watched them char. When she looked back up, he was already watching her. Intent as he usually did. She licked her lips, opened them, and hesitated. “Do you remember the first dragon that burned you?” Without faltering, he considered it while they began to unwind since waking in this land. At last.

            “I remember what their soul tasted like.” Miraak offered. Stars twinkled above them. Steady, she stood and rounded the fire to close some of the distance between them. Sitting barely two steps away, Zephyrine was soft.

            “What was it like for you? Your first time?”

            “Like I’d been lost and found all at once. Something connects but you’re left grasping for more until your hands become claws. You could bring the world down to touch it just once more. You’re left digging an endless hole and hopelessly filling it with something else. The exact sensations escape you. But, you’ll always recall the way the world began to turn around you. You’re a fixed fragment of something greater. Those wide eyes change and people who never cared to learn the very syllables of your name fall to their knees. Words spark against your tongue and it’s difficult at first. You know you’re consumed and you’re not sorry. Why should you be? Few understand the true rage of dragon fire. Few long to piece together the swell of depth and passion born of it. The world is so vast and yet, when you see your own reflection.” Eyes burned together in full. “You’re reminded that it is all so small. But, you are not and you never will be again. There is no going back.” Her chest sunk and he wondered how the heart sounded under it.

            “No,” she agreed. “Even when I had nothing to do with it all, I knew I never wanted to stop. Each word grows more intoxicating than the last. It won’t stop.”

            “Do you wish it to, Zephyrine?”

            “No.” She scoffed. “When I became the Dovahkiin, everything I was. It washed away. In truth, I can’t remember who I was before.”

            “Nor do I wish to.” Miraak offered. “There is only Miraak. Only Zephyrine. Only the pull of knowledge that makes the heart soar and fall. All together.”

            “Only us.” She uttered, leaning in when the entire realm hushed from oblivion and back. That intoxicating silence spilled over this time to drown them both. They watched each other, breathing as one. So close, she could have… “Goodnight, Miraak.” Fire illuminated her red eyes. Cool toned skin chilled this time when she stood and left him to go into her tent. She didn’t come check if he’d escaped. She didn’t worry about waking with a blade to her throat. Zephyrine just closed her eyes and dreamed of illuminated words brought about by a chorus of screams. Somehow, it was beautiful.

** ** **

            _“Dovahkiin…”_

Whispers followed Zephyrine laced in awe when she walked the crisp snow blanketing Winterhold. Guards and citizens noted her presence even with her hood pulled up. Children stopped and tugged at their parents with smiles of glee at their hero. A familiar place usually puts her on edge.

            “Months later, you return. We could have rented your tower.” A mage guarding the entrance quipped. Miraak cocked his head, barely two steps behind the Dunmer. “Who is this?”

            “Mercenary. Paid well to watch my back.” Zephyrine lied.

            “Fellow mages are welcome but do not cause trouble in our school.”

            “If there is trouble, I certainly will not be the source.” Miraak replied, smooth and even. He noted Zephyrine twitch a glimmer of a smile at that.

            “The trek back from my last quest was harsh. I’ll rest and resume my studies in peace.” Zephyrine passed.

            “Urag will be pleased to see you,” the mage snickered as they went.

            “You’d take me from one place of great knowledge to another?” Miraak noted. “Is this trust?”

            “I trust you won’t do anything foolish and get yourself killed for good.” She walked the grounds without looking back at him. “The world is different, you must heal and relearn how to live in it.”

            “Foolish, she says. Foolish as in opening a black book knowing what lies within? Zephyrine, I believe we’re long past that.” He watched her breath puff when she stopped in her tracks under the archway of a lone staircase to a tower. “I’ve just found life again, I do not plan to lose it. But, something foolish? Say what you mean. You’re talking of our noted sins. Curiosity. The thirst of knowledge. How quickly it tumbles from innocent to cataclysmic.”

            “Mora would sooner destroy this world than allow us to tumble too far from it, he’d lose us for good. You’re mortal now. Death will come for you and Mora with it. We won’t enjoy the feasting hall of Sovngarde.” Zephyrine continued up the winding staircase and he paused at the foot, eyes lifting. “Apocrypha will wait for us to make it a home.”

            “And we will have no choice but to face it again together. As one.” Miraak watched her stop once more, standing taller before she turned again. “Which part of that fate frightens you more? Mora or I? You could have let me die. Taken all the souls for yourself. You could have left me behind and yet you clung like a moth to light. You said you chose me before you sealed our fate and took us away. Was that not foolish as well? You could have let me perish as the sacrifice Mora wanted and gone on quite comfortably. All the knowledge still at your fingertips.”

            “Is that what you want? You’ve stayed with few words or issues.” Zephyrine sighed when he didn’t answer before she continued up the spiraling steps to a chamber at the top. Miraak observed her back to him while she pulled off her cloak and looked at the walls. Lined in bookcases of collected items through her journey and tomes. Black eyes shifted over each as if to get to know her better. As if simple trinkets would spell out her life before him. “It was not foolish to save you.” Came her quieter retort. “I’m the hero of Skyrim. I did exactly what I was supposed to do.”

            “You’re selfish as well. Those people gave you not one piece of what Mora did. What I did. They gave you nothing for being that hero. For being Dovahkiin. Can’t blame you for that.” Miraak was softer as well when hoods and cloaks fell away. “I was selfish too. Mora wrapped his tendrils around your neck and I did not want to watch you die. Not before me any longer. That was not my design. Mora only needed one and we took that satisfaction away. I failed to take my own life because of you and you’ve asked for little in return besides teetering conversation. We’re both fumbling in this new world you created and sealed.” Zephyrine puffed again, tried to make it a scoff and failed. They faced each other down, clothing picked up with whistling wind about the tower.

            “And you would die for me?” She watched his eyes and stepped closer to assert the syllables. Something in his expression cracked and a genuine smile overcame all.

            “I would live for you,” came the most truthful sentiment Miraak could think of. “You tore your heroic and budding soul apart for me. I would not take such a remarkable thing for granted. I'll help you carry it.” Zephyrine crossed into his space this time, shuddering apart and together. He felt these sensation vibrate.

            “I believe you.” Her lips came to touch his like a period at the end of a sentence. Like a final word of power. The most powerful one. And so he forged another to prolong the sweet taste better than any dragon soul he’d taken in all his years. The sentence carried. Kiss. Kiss. Kiss. Dot. Dot. Dot. Zephyrine pulled back and he swayed forward in turn, eyes opened. “Can’t remember the last time you had one of those, can you?”

            “I remember,” Miraak shook his head. “You put them to shame.” He let himself touch her, fingers sliding to cup her sharp face and trace those features. Her breath caught. “Dragon’s wings…the sound your heart is making while it beats harder. Fascinating how it carries on even now.” She touched one hand to his chest, ghosting a smile.

            “That is you actually.”

            “Suppose that is a sensation I did forget, then.” Miraak cocked his head. “Thank you, Zephyrine…for reminding me.”

            “You can repay me. A debt I can finally collect from you.” She kissed him again. Hands fumbled along eager bodies when they began to heat. Miraak could have crumbled at her touch. Another sensation he’d been so starved of. She pulled from him only to let layers of fabric fall to her feet. Miraak followed suit until they both were nude, eyes trailed along scarred flesh. He touch bare fingers to her collar, sliding to feel her heart this time. Two souls intertwined. Now and forever. She came forward at his beckoning when the hand slipped behind her neck to bring their foreheads together. Miraak kissed her lips this time, soft and lingering, before he traced a path to her jaw and neck. She moaned aloud, arms winding around his neck to she could press against him in full as if to fuse skin to skin.

            “Does that burn?” His breath cast against her throat. They fought sensitivity to get as close as they could.

            “Yes.” Zephyrine curled her fingers up into his hair and he was lost in her completely. She tugged once with the tiniest utter. “ _Miraak_.” It was as if she shouted him out of existence. Miraak about yanked her from the floor, stumbling until they fell into her soft bed. He held her wrists down just so he could look at her form, writhing to be touched further. Wanting to peak her own sensitivity so they were matched, Miraak looked into her eyes and lowered his mouth to her breasts. Black hair spilled around her head when it tipped back. Dark nipples were hard against his tongue, he pushed one to flick it and heard her moan again. Her lithe body swayed to curve up. Muscles charged and ached under his skin, hair framed his chest and down his hips. They longed so to make this last so he released her and came up again. Breaths cast so heavily when she sat up too.

            “You remember more than you’re letting on,” Zephyrine pushed herself up to snag a potion from her stores, gulping it to cease a chance at an accidental birth. She got a better look at his naked body while he reclined to get a hold of himself. “We have time to teach other what we know…not just here. Deal?”

            “Deal,” Miraak watched her rejoin him in bed, draping her body along his. She took her time, lips mapped out a trail and he was rigid. Cock pulsing and wet when she wrapped her fingers around it. It was his turn to still and moan, eyes lifting before they closed. Unable to stop, she came down on her knees and took him into her mouth. Zephyrine spread her own legs and touched herself in tune with his pleasure. He hesitated but came up a little to watch her, truly breathtaking. He moved hair from her face to see sparkling red eyes and gripped the locks to stay grounded.

            “Shaking already,” she teased this time, lifting up to slide her tongue into his mouth. Zephyrine went for his neck this time so he suckled her fingers to taste her. He sat up, arm winding around the small of her back when she mounted him. They both seized as she slid down his shaft until he filled her. “Stay here with me.” Fingers cupped his jaw, mouths opened against each other. Miraak gripped her to him, pressed against the wall with her in his lap. He squeezed her flesh with his other hand, palming her thigh and bottom until she was moving.  Zephyrine could have curved if his grip wasn’t iron, moving her until she was bouncing. Unable to stop himself, he pressed his ear to her chest and heard the heart under it.

            “Think you won’t lose yourself here as well?” Miraak gripped her tight to keep some control, vowing to undo her. She bit her lips and moaned, head tilting while they rocked. He relished the heat of her. The way her fingers dug into his skin. Thrusting in tune, Miraak kept the pace and fucked her on his cock. He thumbed her clit to feel her jerk in response. A low chuckled left his mouth laced in desire. Getting to know her body was easier than intended and he longed for more. She came forward and braced one hand on the wall, kissing him when pressure mounted. “Let go, Zephyrine. I want to watch you.” He could have pleaded. “Give it to me.”

            “You first,” she undulated, on the brink and he noticed. Miraak stilled, pulling her all the way down his girth until she whined. “Don’t want this to end, do you?”

            “Do you?” He purred. Neither could answer, they rocked and clung as if they were afraid to disappear.  Zephyrine came to rest her chin on his shoulder, cupping the back of his head. Teeth nipped at the point to her ear, finger stimulated her until her end crept up so she clenched and took him down with her. Orgasm shuddered two bodies, twisted tight together. They tumbled against sheets, intertwined before they fell apart to catch breaths. Heated skin untangled atop furs. Miraak looked at her; the release they shared only starved them further. Rough fingers drummed along her thigh.

            “More.” She breathed, pulling him in for a kiss that only spread the fire. Two desperate and touched starved souls slid against each other. Touch electrified when he slipped down her body, thumbs spread her wet lips to see her pulsing still from bliss. They uttered curses and pleas in ancient tongues. Dragonborn voices shaking nerves apart that only furthered the pleasure. He lapped once at her clit to feel her lock up, thighs hitching to spread wider. Miraak uttered words in dovahzul between hot kisses and Zephyrine closed her eyes to echo them. It felt as if invisible fingers were tracing all along their bodies, palms smoothing and eliciting louder moans. Miraak tended her and stroked himself, lips closed around the stiff bud to suckle while Zephyrine clawed into pillows. Forces held her close until she hummed low and arched. Miraak stopped to watch her, lost utterly. She saw light flash within the black depths of his eyes. “Look at me…” She was still and he raised his head to see her. Colors returned when she touched his face, but briefly. Green hazel sparkled within the black pools and flooded away. “It’s beautiful.” Miraak did not know what she meant, but he agreed even still.

            “Yes, it is.” He pecked her lips once. Twice. Shaken to the core. Hands gripped her thighs with more lust to turn her over. Zephyrine came to her hands and knees, bowing to drop her head in the pillows and wiggle as if to offer herself. His mouth was on her again, teeth nipping before he gripped her hips to push inside. Already he was thrusting, quick and deep so he didn’t slip out of her clenched walls. With similar fervor, she bucked to meet him and cried out into pillows as he worked her clit again until they were both gasping messes. Miraak griped her tight until she curved up against his chest.

            “I’m there…” She squeaked and he silenced her whine with his lips. Strong arms held her against him, cupping one breast to tease before he was stroking her. Zephyrine slipped her tongue against his to prolong the kiss, thighs quivering when he near forced her to succumb. “Ngh…no…come with me again.” She fell against the bed and braced herself to keep going; he hunched over and obeyed. They cried out in tune and a gust of wind sent half the items in the room over. Zephyrine cursed, fatigued when he fell into her. “Oops…”

            “Impressive Thu’um.” He remarked, chest heaving with a gentle laugh.

            “That was your fault.” She hissed when he slipped from her to lie on his side. Muscles rhythmically pulsed as she watched his eyes, still on her front. Miraak listened to his own pulse and recalled the sensation. They shifted enough to pull the covers up, shielded from the cold. Her head came to rest on his shoulder, bodies huddled and they found few words.

            “Goodnight, Zephyrine.” He watched her fade first before following after.

** ** **

            Zephyrine woke to an empty bed and realized for the first time that she was no longer used to it. Bolting up, she shook the soreness aside and pulled some robes on without shoes to scramble down the steps and stopped in the doorway. A sigh of relief puffed cold air when she saw Miraak looking over the stone balcony. He appeared truly peaceful in the snowfall.

            “Still don’t trust me, Dragonborn?”

            “You still call me that as if I’m the only one in the world now.” She watched him turn.

            “There is a flicker of truth. This world. It is not mine.”

            “That doesn’t sound like the man I met ready to conquer it.” Zephyrine peered from him briefly. “No, this isn’t your world but you must work at that. I did. You are the first Dragonborn and I’m a traveler and mage of Skyrim. What I said last night… Teach me more about being the Dragonborn and I’ll teach you about this new world.”

            “Deal.” His reply wasn’t hesitant.

            “Deal.” She was softer. They looked at each other in silence. So contented for the first time in years. It lingered between beats in time.

** ** **

            They sank together when the days ticked by so sweet and silent in that tower. Spells illuminated between cracks in the stone at night. Knowledge spilled to fill a void when something peaceful joined it. Not always. They toiled with nightmares that took breath from needy lungs. Charged harsh words that shook the world apart. But it would not wipe away the magnificent understanding forged in hot irons of two burning hearts melting together. But, Zephyrine received a letter that forced the world to turn once more.

            _Paarthurnax is ill. It won’t be long. He’s asked for you. –A friend_

            “This cursed book gets it all wrong,” Miraak grumbled on a ladder above her. “Not accurate to my time at all.” He waited for her sarcasm to follow and looked down when it didn’t. She crushed the letter in one fist, dropping her arms and Miraak saw her melancholy quell to crinkle her expression. “Zephyrine?”

            “There is something I have to do.” Red eyes lifted. “Will you come with me? I…I don’t want to do it alone.”

            “I would not let you.”

** ** **

            They climbed the seven thousand steps. Greybeards were in silent meditation upon arrival. They did not rise to greet her or question the man who followed at her side. Two extraordinary souls filled the room and they let it flutter out just as quick. Zephyrine trudged through the snow, steps picking up. That still ache lingered within her chest at the sight of an old dragon breathing heavy and curled against the stone word wall. _Yol_. Fire.

            “You neglected to tell me your friend was a dragon.” Miraak stilled to see more dragons flying high overhead. Many framed either side of the path, heads bowed and regal. They would size him up. “This is Paarthurnax. Brother to Alduin. My childhood was filled with great stories of your pursuits. And you recognize me.”

            “Somehow fitting- _bodoraal_ -that the long lost dragon priest… Servant once. Leader of a failed rebellion, _Miraak_ , sets foot upon this new world as I am to leave it.” Paarthurnax lifted his head from the snow. “Yes, I know a great deal of you. _Bo strin_. Show me the thu’um that took many of my brothers to the ground. _Zaan_.”

            “Odahviing.” Zephyrine came to touch his nose in greeting. “Good to see you. Considering.” Hot breath puffed, sending her hood off. Miraak passed and felt the hard eyes follow from dragons, heads turned to see him.

            “He waited for you, Dovahkiin.” Odahviing nudged her hand so she followed after. “First and last come to witness the end of an era.”

            “It has all fallen into place. _Ahst laat_. Dragons will cease to be. Zephyrine. You found what you were looking for. _Zu'u koraav_. Show me your thu’um, Miraak. Show us who you are.” Paarthurnax came up and shook the stone with his steps. Miraak inhaled and braced himself.

            “ _Mul Qah Diiv!”_ Ethereal armor swirled up his frame when he stood taller to regard them all.

            “You live up to your name.” Paarthurnax cocked his head to see his friend.

            “This is because of what I did,” Zephyrine passed between them. The light cast by Miraak framed her in a glow.

            “You completed the cycle, Zephyrine. None here can blame you for that. You were supposed to. Fate fractured and yet, life will continue. Perhaps, there is something vast and good to be seen beyond it.” The old dragon closed his eyes when Zephyrine pressed her forehead to the side of his face, hand flat against the cool scales.

            “I wouldn’t have gotten here without you. Thank you, my friend.”

            “On the contrary, you’ve thrived in this world and paved a path few others could follow. I am truly proud of you.” Dragons bowed their heads when Paarthurnax lowered his to the snow. Zephyrine felt her face heat and took a step back. “You’ve inspired so many souls in turn. That shall not end. So as long as you burn bright. There is one last thing. You know what I will ask of you.”

            “Paarthurnax…I can’t.” She sniffled and held herself until a hand touched her shoulder.

            “It must be you, it’s what he wants.” Miraak coaxed gently and she peered to see him, her hand came up to touch his and he sighed out. Fingers laced and Paarthurnax regarded them both.

            “And so the First Dragonborn loved the Last. Here at the Throat of the World. I suppose stranger things have happened in this life. I imagine the next will bring something more to look forward too. Such is the path. But…what we’ve created through these mighty shouts and soft sighs…they shall not ever be erased. Nor forgotten. Remember them, my friend. Remember these incredible hours you lived within. So, too, shall I.” The mighty dragon and beloved companion touched his head to the ground while Zephyrine ran fingertips down his cheek. So at rest, his breath chilled. “ _Kos ahst drem. Zu'u fent daal._ Zephyrine, farewell, Dragonborns. Take care of each other. The world shall remember…” And then his breath fluttered away, taking the rest of his soul with it.

            “Parth?” Paarthurnax? No… Don’t go. Please.” She grew tearful, touching her head to his while the silence carried along the wind. Many dragons flapped their wings, rousing with cries to lift and deliver the news. Light whirled so she sucked in her breath to take in the greatest soul she’d known.

            “Zephyrine.” Miraak’s hands came to her shoulders in a way of comfort. He didn’t try to splice any piece of the soul still flitting about her skin. It wasn’t meant for him. “He will want a proper burial.” She turned instead and hugged him close, giving him a moment to respond. Paarthurnax’s soul extinguished within her to join many others. “You did well.” Miraak had offered instead, eyes lifting to the dragons overhead still full of so much life. His words were what her world had been waiting for. “You’ve done so well.”

            “Thank you,” came her breath, shuddering with a million reasons why. With the Greybeards' assistance, they buried the great dragon at the Throat of the World. Many flocked to pay their respects so Zephyrine said her goodbyes. “Miraak.” She’d turned to him, hand outstretched. _Home_. He’d thought, taking it. Her lips lifted as if she’d heard him. She echoed the call. _I am home_. They’d fought and loved, the sky would quake with such revelations. Two Dragonborns who dreamed so vast and made realities even greater. “Shall we continue?”

            “Together? I’d covet nothing further than that.”

            “Still, there are truths yet to be uncovered.” Zephyrine sighed out, fulfilled beyond any belief. _We are each other’s and yet so much ourselves at the same time._

“I suppose we had better go out and find them.” Miraak had loved her and felt that radiate in return with her smile. An equal exchange of great thu’ums and beating hearts. Hands laced, they walked this path together at last. Souls joined and yet stark with becoming illuminations soon to be written. Healed before the eyes of Sovngarde and ready to face these fates to come. Eyes met and peace followed them from now into an eternity. Nothing could have looked this exquisite.

            And so the world was theirs once more.

**Author's Note:**

> <3 Thank you to all the readers clicking in and those who waited so long for me to write the maybe sequel. When I wrote the first, I hadn't planned on doing more but the sweet comments and my love of the characters really inspired me to go further. :)


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